Based on the advice Zeke had given me, I thought of a gift for Lilia's birthday.
　Since Lilia-san rarely wears accessories, I thought of accessories, but... since we have a lot of time to prepare, I thought I'd try to get her something a little more elaborate.
　The only problem is whether or not I can prepare what I have in mind.

...the music box's magic tool?
Yeah. Do you think it's possible to make something like that?

　So, as usual, as usual, it is Kuro's call in times of trouble.
　As usual, I asked Black when he showed up in my room at night, after scratching him and explaining the situation to him.

I asked him after explaining the situation. It's used as a luxury gift, so my dealer sells them. Of course, ordinary music boxes are available, but magic tools are more popular because they are more compact and can contain various traps.
Okay.

　As expected, the music box itself seems to exist in this world, and is also used as a gift or something.
　This is very important information........I learned this when I was working on my calculator. If you use a magic tool to recreate a machine from my world, you'll be surprised before you get the pleasure from it, and it'll be complicated with patents and such.
　So it's better to have a product that exists in this world and is somewhat famous.

It's a good idea to give a music box as a present. If you want to make an elaborate device, do you want me to make it for you?
Oh, no that's the thing, do you think I could make that magic tool too?
Kite?

　If you ask Black, I'm sure you'll be able to create the best music box in the world. But this is my gift to Lilia as a gesture of gratitude.
　There's no reason why I can't just ask Black to make it for me and then go ahead and do it.

It's a good idea. It's a good idea to make sure that you're not going to have to worry about the fact that you're not going to be able to get your hands on any of them.
''Hmmm. The magic of the music box's magic tool itself is very simple, and Kite has recently become able to write simple posts..............................so, yes, it's okay. I'll teach you the hard parts.
Oh, thank you. Thank you.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work for you.
　I can't make a magic tool from scratch yet, but I can add simple actions to the original magic formula.
　It's not so difficult to make the magic tool of the music box according to Black, it's just a good difficulty level for a beginner to challenge the magic tool making.

I'm going to ask Chartier to discuss the design of the box and other items, and we'll just work on the magic formula little by little from now.
Yeah, okay!
So, Kite, what's your 'song' going to be?
...What?

　I nodded with a smile and then heard Black's words and I stiffened in a snap... Kyoku?　Song?　

Oh...
Do you think... you didn't think about it?
...Ugh.
Kite you can't make it without sheet music at least?
You're right...

　It's such a good argument that I can't even begin to tell the difference.
　Seeing me slumping my shoulders in a gulp, Black chuckles a little annoyed and speaks to me in a gentle tone of voice.

''Well, let's just study the basic techniques for today. So, you can try to find a song from tomorrow. Okay?
Uh, yes thank you.
I'll do whatever I can to help you. I'll do my best.
"...Oh!

　It's very reassuring to hear these words.
　Anyway, I'm going to Alice's general store tomorrow to consult with her about making a box of music boxes, and I'll ask her about the music while I'm there.
　Alice is always there to escort me around, so there's no need to go to the grocery store if you just want to talk to her... but I hear she has a workshop there too, so I'm sure it'll give me inspiration for some more blank designs and stuff.








　It's the 26th day of the month of Saturday after the first night. I came to Alice's grocery store and was dumbfounded after I explained the situation to her.


Ugh there are no words for that.
Haha, but it's quite difficult to choose a song...Duke Lilia, I've got a pretty good ear for it.
'What?　Oh, really?!

　I listen to Alice's words as she tells me with a wry smile, and I listen back in astonishment.
　I'm not bright about the music of this world, and the music of the original world is impossible for me to recreate, as I can't even read the notes properly.

It's a good idea to have the court orchestra playing in the courtroom as a standard for the Duke of Lilia, since he is a former member of the royal family.
Hmmm... we're in trouble. I only know a couple of songs from this world and...
Well, well, that's where this little Alice, the 'great musician,' comes in.
I've never heard of such a reputation.

　Alice, a self-proclaimed musician with a reputation for smugly posing with a smug smile on her mouth.....................what is this scent?
　Alice then crouches behind the counter and starts rummaging through something.

''Well, where did I put it.......I haven't used it for a long time.......oh!　There it is!
Is that a violin?

　Alice pulls what looks like a violin from behind the counter and looks at it from various angles to check it out a bit.
　Perhaps she had cast a state preservation spell. After lightly moving her fingers to release it, Alice holds up her violin in front of me, who is confused.

''........The theme is love, and the tune should be pop, right?
Alice?　Huh?

　I was about to ask her what she was trying to do, but I was immediately struck speechless.
　Alice moved her hands and began to play... The sound of her violin echoed through the air, overwhelming even me, who is not a music buff, with its gentle, harmonious melody, sometimes lonely, sometimes bright and joyful.
　The gentle, harmonious sound of the melody, sometimes sad, sometimes cheerful and joyful, echoed deep into my heart, as if it were a part of me.

　What a song!　Anyway, it was a great song... I was so relieved, I couldn't help but close my eyes and listen to it.
　When the song ended, I couldn't help but clap my hands reflexively.

How's that?
'That was a great song!　What's that song?
'What?　I haven't decided on a song title yet because I 'just wrote it'?
"...What?　Huh?　Ehhh!

　I just made that!　Improvising that awesome song!　I can't believe it. What the hell kind of structure does this guy have in his head?
　In front of my astonished face, Alice pulls out a clean sheet of paper out of nowhere, and in the blink of an eye, handwrites the score in her free hand, smoothing it out. Is she a monster or is she........

Oh, Alice can you write music and stuff?
Huh?　Yeah, well, I can do most of it. I can use all the instruments, and I've written about '2000 songs'...
....

　Really, what is Alice's incomprehensible high specs?　Really, I feel like I could make as much money as I want if I wanted to.
　When I was thinking about that, Alice quickly turned her face away and told me in a small, lonely voice.

''........Well, I've mastered most things.
Alice?
'It's nothing!　Let's start thinking about the design of the music box. Since Kite-san is going to make it herself, we don't want it to be too complicated, but at the same time, we want to make sure that there are some tricks to it.
'Oh, ah...'

　Truly, Alice is still a mystery to me, even now that I'm close to her.
　Even if I knew the secret that his true identity was the Phantom King, I felt like there was going to be a deeper nanika than that... just that I shouldn't be asking it now. Surely Alice wouldn't want that either.
　Someday, when Alice was ready to hear it from her she hoped that she would be able to hear it from her own mouth.

　Dear Mom and Dad - I've decided to make a music box for Lilia's birthday present. To be honest, I've never done anything like this before, but I'm going to get some advice from a lot of people and somehow - I'm going to finish it.